


A Shock to the System

by writtenthroughtime



Series: WTT's Posts for ImagineClaireandJamie [35]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Alternate Universe where Claire Stayed after Culloden, F/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-10-22 06:51:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10691964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtenthroughtime/pseuds/writtenthroughtime
Summary: Prompt: Hi, could You write a Fic where Jamie managed to avoid Geneva´s blackmailing (that never happened) and later she met Frasers and SEE THEM TOGETHER (gladly with bairns)? Love to see Claire give her (G) a hard time – kill that little brat!!!





	1. Geneva: A Shock to the System

“Mac!” the groom’s head shot up, a fire of bronze and gold glinting in the sunlight. She held her breath watching, longing, _wanting_ ; he was something she wanted more than anything and she always got what she wanted. She missed what else the overseer said, but it was something that turned Mac’s face into something she’d never seen before, pure bliss. His smile stretched from corner to corner of his face, his eyes alight, and he seemed to glow even brighter.

He took off at a run at first, but slowed his pace the further to the edge of the property he went. She was heaving and gasping for breath by the time she caught up with him. Her heart pounding not just from the excursion of running, but from fear. If he stepped off of property lines, then he’d be sent away, and if he was sent away… no. She couldn’t think like that right now. He was hers and she will have what she desires. Multiple letters she had stolen from the post were from two different women, and they burned a hole in her pocket. What if one were to know he had a lover? That would end his relationships and he’d have to see reason and be with her. Only her.

Cautiously she peeked around the rowan tree, eager to keep an eye on her prize. Curiosity had sparked deep inside and she needed to know what made him so elated and hasten to the edge of the property line. It couldn’t be that sap Lord John, normally Mac spoke to him cordially, but on the rare occasion he was curt and seemed to swell in size with anger. In those moments, she had cowered in the hay, too terrified to seek shelter in the house. What she saw on the other side of the tree though, didn’t spark terror, or joy, but the sickening feeling of disbelief.

Mac was wrapped around a woman, her untamed dark curls intertwined with his fiery red as the wind blew around them. She could see the gleam of tears streaking down his face as he kissed this woman with more passion than she knew possible. Who was she, and why was she here? Mac was hers and the faster this woman realized it the better for everyone.

“Da! Da! Up! Up! Up!” A small, chubby-cheeked boy squealed. His hair had the same riotous curls as the woman, but the shade of Mac’s.

“No…” she whispered aloud to herself. “This can’t be. No! He doesn’t have children! He can’t have children!” Her whispers had escalated to shrieks causing Mac, the woman and both children to turn. Two… there were two children. She screamed in outrage even louder.

“Miss Dunsany!” Mac called as she barrelled towards him and his family.

“You whore! You cheat! You filthy Scottish BITCH!” Geneva roared rearing back to slap the woman who had hidden the eldest child, a little girl, behind herself.

Mac reached out for her hand, but the woman stopped her first, gripping her wrist and throwing it down.

“You do not speak to me that way, _Miss_ Dunsany.” The woman said while glaring down at her.

“I will call you whatever I want! Mac is my groom, my father owns this estate! You are trespassing and do not belong! I can and will speak to you in whatever manner I deem necessary!”

“You may be the child of the owner of these lands, but I am a guest on these grounds. If you do not believe me, ask your father. I came at his and Lord John Grey’s request to visit my husband. His sentence here is nearly up, little girl. You should show respect to others, no matter their station or who you may perceive to be below you.”

“I don’t have to listen to a traitor like yourself. You have an English accent yet you claim this Scot is your husband!”

“Don’t listen to me then, listen to your father.” The woman nodded her head behind Geneva, who swiftly turned to see her father, red-faced and storming towards them.

“Geneva.” He said in a tone she’d never before heard on herself, it sent a sickening ice through her veins. “To the house, now. I’ll expect you to be on your best behavior and an apology formally addressed to both Mac and his wife, as well as his children.”

“But Papa!”

“No!”

“–they’re trespassing! They don’t belong here!”

“Geneva!” He roared again, the small boy in Mac’s arms cowered into his father’s neck

“Mrs. MacKenzie and her children are here on **_my_** invitation. Do you not think Mac deserves to see his family? Has he treated our family so dishonorably that he does not deserve a reward?” He grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her to look at the small family. “Do you see them? Look at the children! They only have letters and vague memories of their father. Is that how you wish to have grown? No trace or memory of me?”

“N-no Papa, I–”

“You’re being selfish, Geneva. Get to the house, now!” She took off at a run, not stopping to pick up the letters she felt falling from her pockets. Her heart was broken. He had a wife, two children. Why couldn’t he be hers?

As the tears fell, and she stumbled her way back towards the house she could hear the laughter of the two children, Mac’s laugh, the laugh of the woman, and an even more foreign laugh, her father’s.


	2. Claire: A Shock to the System

“Stop fidgeting William!” I admonished my overeager son.

“But Mama, Da will be here soon! I just want Da!” He cried fully of restless enthusiasm.

I picked up the boy and held him close. “I know you want your Da, I do too and so does Bree. But you heard what Mr. Dunsany said, we have to wait for Da to show up. We can’t go to him just yet.”

William rolled his blue eyes and let out a sigh. He began to push on my arms and chest, squirming to get free. “Mama, let me go!” He said, putting emphasis on each word. I laughed and did as my son requested.

“Oh! Look! Look! Mam! Look!” Bree said tugging at my sleeve and pointing at the sight of Jamie running down the hill towards us.

“Jamie,” I whispered, picking up my skirts and running for him as well, the children close behind.

Soon the all consuming embrace of my husband’s arms were around me, the tang of his sweat and horses enveloping my nostrils as I burrowed my head in his chest.

“Mo nighean donn, tha goal agam ort,” Jamie breathed just before his lips crushed to mine, taking my breath away. Tears freely flowed from both of us as we took in the feel of one another again.

“Da! Da! Up! Up! Up!” William protested, trying to insert himself between our bodies.

Jamie laughed lifting William up in a sweeping hug. “How are you, my son?”

William burrowed his head in Jamie’s neck and sighed. “I’ve missed ye, Da. When are ye comin ‘ome?”

“Ah mo mac as soon as I can. I dinna like leaving ye–”

“No! He doesn’t have children! He can’t have children!” a shriek sounded from behind Jamie towards the trees. A slender, beautiful girl stormed towards us, her face puce in color as she screamed her protestations.

“Miss Dunsany!” Jamie called, angling himself so that he partially blocked Bree and I from view. So she was one of the children of the household then, I thought.

“You whore! You cheat! You filthy Scottish BITCH!” The child screeched, pushing passed Jamie and rearing back to slap me. My hand caught her wrist at the same time Jamie’s shot out.

“You do not speak to me that way, Miss Dunsany,” I said with as much malice as I could while still remotely polite for my children’s sake.

The girl jerked her hand free of my grasp as her face turned an even darker shade of red. “I will call you whatever I want! Mac is my groom, my father owns this estate! You are trespassing and do not belong! I can and will speak to you in whatever manner I deem necessary!”

“You may be the child of the owner of these lands, but I am a guest on these grounds. If you do not believe me, ask your father. I came at his and Lord John Grey’s request to visit my husband. His sentence here is nearly up, little girl. You should show respect to others, no matter their station or who you may perceive to be below you.”

“I don’t have to listen to a traitor like yourself. You have an English accent yet you claim this Scot is your husband!” The girl bellowed at me, trying to instill guilt and remorse in me. It didn’t work. All I saw before me was a spoiled princess who was trying to unsuccessfully to have her way. The more the girl shrieked, the less she seemed to have been paying attention to her surroundings.

“Don’t listen to me then, listen to your father,” I said to her, nodding behind the girl to indicate the figure walking towards us.

“Geneva, to the house, now. I’ll expect you to be on your best behavior and an apology formally addressed to both Mac and his wife, as well as his children.” Mr. Dunsany said in annoyance.

“But Papa!”

“No!”

“–they’re trespassing! They don’t belong here!” She continued to protest, gesturing wildly at myself and children.

“Geneva!” Mr. Dunsany roared, causing William to jump in Jamie’s arms. Jamie rested a hand on his neck as William buried his face even deeper into his neck.

“Mrs. MacKenzie and her children are here on my invitation. Do you not think Mac deserves to see his family? Has he treated our family so dishonorably that he does not deserve a reward? Do you see them? Look at the children! They only have letters and vague memories of their father. Is that how you wish to have grown? No trace or memory of me?”

“N-no Papa, I–”

“You’re being selfish, Geneva. Get to the house, now!” The girl turned on her heel and ran back up the hill, bits of parchment falling to the ground behind her.

“I am so sorry Mrs. MacKenzie for my daughter’s impertinence. Please do not take her childish actions as the beliefs of the household.”

I rested my hand on Mr. Dunsany’s arm in reassurance, “Thank-you, sir. I know that she is not the one who speaks for your family and hope you do not punish her too severely later. She is, after all, just a young girl. I have seen many a woman fancy my husband, your daughter seems to have developed an attachment to him and is lashing out. I do not fault her, my husband is a good man and treats everyone with respect. I believe her fancies have been misplaced and her heart is hurting from first lust’s broken heart.”

Mr. Dunsany let out a low chortle. “You’re being too kind, Mrs. MacKenzie. If you and your family would please follow me back to the house, there are some matters of great importance we all need to discuss.”

“Da?” William whispered as only a child could, a loud voice partially muffled by his hand.

“What is it son?” Jamie whispered back.

“Why is the man all funny dressed?”

Mr. Dunsany heard my son’s remark and instead of admonishing or scoffing as expected, he let out a booming laugh that startled us all into laughter.

“Why that is a good question young Master MacKenzie. I suppose this is a bit too stuffy and formal for the average day,” Mr. Dunsany said, wiping away stray tears of laughter.

William’s face scrunched in protest, Jamie sensed the same reaction was coming as I and clapped his hand over our son’s mouth before he could retort.

Before we entered the house, Brianna tugged on my arm again holding out a wad of parchment.

“Mama, you may want to see this. It’s in yours and Auntie Jenny’s hand.”

My eyes widened in shock, the letters both Jenny and I had sent that went unanswered, and even one that the children had written tucked away in the mess of papers.

“Do ye think the girl took them from Da? Do ye suppose that’s why he never answered us?”

I pulled Brianna in close with an arm around her shoulders. “Perhaps my love. It will be a question we can pose to Mr. Dunsany and even your father. Given the display from earlier, I would not doubt she nicked these before your Da had a chance to read them.” I pointed with my thumb, “See how the wax isn’t ripped or broken, almost as if the wax was only heated to allow it to pop open without notice?”

“Aye, I dinna like it, Mama,” Bree whispered, her eyes set in grim determination.

“I don’t either, but let’s not bring this up until we know what Mr. Dunsany wants from us, alright?”

A curt nod from Bree was my answer.

Seated in an elaborate tea room, William’s eyes were as round as the saucers carrying tea, jams, and biscuits. Jamie, on the other hand, sat ramrod straight and looked uncomfortable to be in such a room.

“The matter at hand concerns both yourself Mac and that of your family. You’ve been with us for nearly seven years and not once have you caused any trouble on my estate. You’re a damn fine horseman and worker so I’ll be despondent at your departure. I don’t know if I’ll ever see such work ethic on a groom again.”

“At my departure? Mr. Dunsany are you–”

“Yes Mac, you leave today with your wife and children. Your indenture has been completed and with the help of Lord Grey, we’ve procured your release papers.” Mr. Dunsany gestured to the servant who stood by the door, taking the sealed document from him. “This is yours now, as is your freedom. There are stipulations, but those are none of my concern. Take as long as you need to process the information. Your family is welcome to stay the night and you all can be on your way in the morning.”

Jamie sat in stunned silence, the sealed papers resting in his hands.

“Love?” I asked, reaching over to offer any form of comfort that I could.

His shoulder shook with silent tears. “I’m coming home, Claire.”

He leaned over and kissed me soundly until both of us were gasping for breath. “I’ll never leave ye or the children again, I swear it.”

A sob shook us apart. Bree had covered her mouth and tears were falling freely down her face.

“Mo nighean ruaidh, come here,” Jamie whispered with a gesture. Bree flung herself into her father’s arms and cried in earnest.

“Da you’re coming home. You’re coming home!” She sobbed into his chest.

With a kiss to her temple, he held her close and said, “Aye, a leanan. I’m coming home for good.”


End file.
